Room Escape Artist

Searching is good. Solving is faster.

Location: Emeryville, CA

Date Played: June 6, 2025

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 3-6

Duration: 60 minutes

Price:  $37.95 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: None

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Relic was set in an archaeological work camp along with the ancient relic that was being researched. It was a search-heavy escape room, with objects and written clues scattered liberally through the space. In fact, a number of puzzles yielded solutions that simply pointed us to the locations of keys that could conceivably have been found had we searched more thoroughly.

The set itself was well appointed and immersively decorated. The game incorporated a mechanic that I have only encountered occasionally, where the group was forced, on a regular basis, to solve a simple puzzle that warded off danger. This created an exciting rhythm to the game flow. 

The puzzles were traditional logic, and the final solution was cinematic and satisfying.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level

Why play?

Step into a dig site alive with mystery, where immersive set design, recurring threats, and a steady rhythm of discovery keep your whole team engaged from start to finish.

Story

Archaeologists had discovered an ancient relic that caused madness in people and our task was to seal off its power forever.

Setting

The Relic was set in an archaeological work camp with all its expected accoutrements, built up around an ancient powerful relic.

Gameplay

Red Door Escape Room’s The Relic was a standard escape room with a moderate to high level of difficulty.

The game was filled with artifacts, so there was plenty of straightforward collection work. There were also a large number of standard escape room logic puzzles. A number of non-trivial puzzles solved to the locations of hidden, but completely accessible keys.

Analysis

➕ The tension level was elevated by the relic coming alive at regular intervals to make demands of us. I have not seen this mechanic often.

➖ A fair bit of effort was spent solving puzzles that yielded solutions that told us where to look to find a key that we could have accessed the whole time, but had missed in our initial search. However, since there was no way to know beforehand that a particular puzzle might be bypassed, teams who are better at searching may be disappointed at spending unnecessary time on solving.

❓The work camp setting is, by nature, meant to feel temporary, and while the set aligned realistically with that theme, some of the props felt a bit on the lightweight side. More investment in the set dressing could elevate the overall sense of immersion and production value.

➕ The titular relic was imposing, satisfyingly interactive, and brought the space to life. The set itself made good use of the space, even though it was technically a single-room experience.

Tips For Visiting

• There was street parking, but there were also public parking garages within walking distance of the venue.
• Red Door Emeryville was located in a shopping district and there were numerous eating establishments within walking distance.

Book your hour with Red Door Escape Room’s The Relic, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.